We entered July with the continued cooler than usual summer, until this 3rd week, when it reached the century mark on the thermometer. Maybe my vegetables will grow better with some heat. I have one pea pod…..no tomatoes, no squash, the corn is getting taller. Until recently the nights have been in the 50’s and low 60’s while the days have been 80’s. I’m guessing we need warmer weather for veggies??? Maybe it’s harder to grow veggies at the 3000 foot elevation???
On July 4th I saw my first fawn of the year. It seemed a bit early and I still haven’t seen any others. The deer haven’t been around our house much but I think it was due to the dead deer on the property next to ours. Thank goodness the weather wasn’t too warm at the time. We open our windows at night to cool off but with the strong odor we kept our windows closed at night.
We’ve had lots of baby quail this year. They are so adorable, looking like walking fluffy ping pong balls when they first hatch. We even had a flock of turkeys and their hatchlings cross through the grass in front of the house. I have only seen one Jack rabbit here the 12 years we’ve had this house. This year we’ve had many sightings. Maybe with all the rains and grasses they’ve multiplied.
July also began with the construction of our new roof. I learned that when you doubt the safety of walking out any doorway, due to the enthusiastic work overhead, one tends to remain indoors. This was a good thing since I had limited excuses to procrastinate painting. (I love puttering outside) I rather liked the rhythmic banging companied with painting and I even managed to finish a few paintings.
July is when the ‘Tour de France’ event occurs. Last year we watched the race on the computer screen. THIS year I hooked the computer up to the TV to watch the LIVE streaming internet coverage….we don’t have television reception. I haven’t had TV in 3 years and don’t miss it…. ANyway….I love France, and the race of course, but I’ve also enjoyed sketching bits of France’s landscapes that appeal to me and have 3 pages of little sketches for potential paintings.
Oakhurst’s monthly ART HOP was the second Saturday, July 10th. I had the pleasure of painting at Williams Gallery West with Patricia Allen and Patrick Lacey. Patrick is also one of the regional artists painting for the Sierra Foothill Conservancy.
When deciding on a subject to paint for Art Hop, I found a lightly sketched view of the foothills in the Hornitos area in a pile of unfinished paintings. I sketched the scene last November, eight months ago, with limited lines so I wasn’t sure what I my goal had been. It was a lot of fun to play with the existing lines and create what I envisioned in my head. This is the resulting painting, (9×12, unfinished):
Towards the end of Art Hop day, I also made a quick study of a painting I’ve been meaning to paint for a while. My husband and I were just outside of Fresno on our way home one night. The moon rose over the dark landscape in the shape of a tilted golden egg illuminating a maroon toned landscape. I sketched a thumbnail scene, noting colors. The pastel study (5×8) was fun to create but still isn’t what I see in my mind.
Here’s a 6×6 acrylic painting of morning’s first light and dewy grass. I like the wrap around canvas with the scene continued on the sides. One doesn’t need a frame, it’s ready to hang on the wall.
I’m still working on this acrylic painting of the last of glow of evening light. This is also a wrap around canvas, 6×12.
